Mania
by Chenya
Summary: A futuristic fic. Lex's father was put in a mental institution and he has to visit him. The visit causes Lex to meet with an old friend from the past, Clark Kent, and from then on, his life starts to twist and turn, including his life with his wife, Lana.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, or any of its characters, the show belongs to the WB and to Miles Milar, Al Gough and co.

**

* * *

Mania**

**Chapter 1: **

Morning didn't live to see the sun in Lex Luthor's mansion. Curtains in many shades of black covered every single window, blocking the light of day from entering. "If the sun were to conquer the world, the moon would spread its darkness in its shelter: In our hearts", that's what his father used to tell him every night. For many years, Lex has tried to ignore what his daddy called "his fate", every word which has come out of Lionel Luthor's mouth, would be a curse. But Lex's had a passion for curses – the magic of evil. He was drawn to his father's words, like his drawing to women.

Lex rolled around his bed, trying to sense his wife's body, before waking up. She wasn't there. _Left for work I suppose_, he thought to himself, while opening his eyes to find the curtains open to the grey landscape of Metropolis. _Ah, Metropolis, the city of my dreams_, he couldn't have thought of a better place to live in. No city could top the most successful city in Kansas. Lex wasn't the mayor of the city, or any kind of politician, but he was a business man, and as one, he ruled it.

"Good morning, sir!" said one of the servants. Two of them were standing on the front door of the bedroom, waiting for their master to wake up. "It's time to get dressed".

Yeah, he had to get dressed; a big day was ahead of him. He dropped the grey blanket on the floor, stood up to look at him in the mirror, and went straight to the bathroom. He put his head inside the toilet, waited for the food from the day before to be spilt. To his right, he could see the two servants taking the grey sheets, folding them in a way he never understood. He closed the bathroom door and locked it; in the mirror he could see a slim man, with a bald head and red eyes. He's never felt so sick; he could've never prepared himself for this day.

_He remembered it well, it was the night when he and his wife, Lana Lang, had diner alongside the fireplace. They ate Chinese food that night. Lana talked about her day in the gallery, she didn't know if people would be interested in seeing her paintings. Yeah, he remembered it well, when she said the word paintings, the phone started to ring. _

Lex wet his head with cool water and went back to stare at his red eyes. He didn't look like that while dining with his wife that night. He then put his hand on his lower back, searching for the pain he caused himself that night. _"Ah"_ he moaned silently when he found the scratch, it still burned.

_One of the servants answered the phone, Lex and Lana were still giggling about the new master of the gallery._

_"Um, sir," the servant interrupted, "It's an important phone call, you should pick up"_

_"Well, can't it wait?" he asked, without looking at his worker, just smiling at Lana. _

_"It's you FATHER, sir." The servant whispered, hoping the wife didn't hear him_

_Lex's eyes weren't relaxed as they used to be. He closed them, trying to convince himself he hadn't just heard that. He felt his muscles shrinking, one by one. Only one muscle was stretched – he reached his hand to the white phone next to him, and without further ado, he locked himself inside his office. "Yeah, talk!"_

_"Mr. Luthor, it's your father" Said a squeaky voice from the other side._

_"I know it's my father!" He yelled, "What could be the problem?"_

_"He wants to see you, he misses you!" the squeaky voice tried to sound comforting and understanding._

_"Why should I go and see him? Why should I take a pause, stop my life, and visit the one man, whose goal was to destroy me?"_

_"Well," The squeaky voice continued on talking softly, "You're his son, only son."_

_"SO WHAT?" Lex's face was turning red, contrasting the black couch. He tried to forget everything that has happened to him, and end the conversation as soon as possible. _

_"As one of the men responsible for putting the man in this mental institution, you should at least see how he progressed, don't you think Mr. Luthor?"_

He had to go there; he had to face his greatest fear, he had to see his father for the last time, before he closed the door. He had to close the door, the only door which closed all darkness and brought light into his life.

* * *

**Author Notes:** Here's the first chapter of my first fic in4 years.Thank you for taking the time to read it, I hope you enjoyed reading it, there's much more to come. Reviews are most welcome! Please be gentle in your reviews, I know my English isn't so good, but I'm trying:)


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville (But I'm allowed to dream I do:) or any of its characters. Smallville belongs to the WB , Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and co._ **

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

Lex put his purple silk shirt, put on a nice purple tie; he had to show his father he isn't the man he wanted him to be. He has imagined his meeting with him in so many ways since he got the phone call, although he knew no imagination can describe this critical meeting. He took another look at the mirror, before exiting the building. He took a deep breath and grinned a fake smile to himself, "Everything is going to be fine" he said quietly, _yeah right. _

After informing the whole crew of the mansion, he got out of his oasis into the shining grey Jaguar, which was parked under it. Before starting the machine, he took another deep breath. _He it goes_.

The way to the Metropolis mental institution was short, Lex tried to drive as fast as he could, wanting to get rid of the great stone that was set on his heart. One of the advantages of being famous is that you have saved parking spaces; Lex always thanked the press for them. After he parked the car, he looked at the building standing in front of him. It was a dirty building; the black smoke covered the white of the walls. It looked like a jailhouse, with its big squared windows and the bars behind each and one of them. _Another deep breath._

The press was already on the front door, throwing questions at Lex, but he ignored them – It was the best way to pass the never-ending investigations of the press. Two body guards escorted him from when he arrived to the building. The construction of the building's inside was suitable for its residents. The reception area was painted in white, while the long corridors were painted in bright sickening blue. The corridors were blocked by glass doors, so the people who were brought in, won't consider getting out.

"Hello, Mr. Luthor! We've been expecting you!" said the receptionist. She was short, and not that attractive: Her hair was long and neglected, her teeth were filled with breakfast, and her smell wasn't so inviting. "You may enter from there, your father had already been informed you'd come today, he was very happy, if I may add."

Lex just grinned, the receptionist pointed at a man in a suit that looked like a business man suit, he was wearing a black suit with a blue tie – A weird combination. The man smiled at Lex and shook his hand strongly. "Hi, my name is Gerry Gaspin, I'll be your escort to this institute."

"Mr. Gaspin, I didn't come here for chitchat or to take a tour in this dreadful place, please, I just want to see my father."

Gerry opened the glass door in front of them. They went through a long corridor, passing by a few crazy men, who claimed they are married to Elizabeth Taylor and Mother Nature. When they arrived at the end of the corridor, Gerry pointed at a black door, "He's right there, that's his room, you may enter now".

"Thank you, Mr. Gaspin, I'll manage from here." Said Lex, and without further ado he walked towards the black door. With every step he took, his heart beat faster and faster. _Another deep breath._ His two silent bodyguards went along with him, but were stopped in the middle of their way. "Thank you for all your help," Lex said, "but from here I really can manage, I don't think you'll be able to help me now". He had to do it alone, there was no other way to break free. The only thing left to do was to open the door. _Another deep breath._

Lex discovered a white room, in the middle of it stood a table with two chairs beside it. On one of them sat Lionel Luthor, the great man who walked down crazy lane. He wore a blue suit, like the colour of the corridors in the institute. When Lex got closer to his father he noticed the big smile on his face. After one year in the mental institute, he expected his father to look awful, but on the contrary, he looked great. His arm muscles were bold and almost tore the suit he wore. The whole room was filled with books. Lex sat on the other chair, staring at his still smiling dad. "Hello son." He said with a confident sound.

"Hello dad, I assume you wanted some.."

"How are you, son? Still working hard to keep the company number one? And how's your beautiful wife, Miss Lang. I wonder why she didn't change her name to Luthor."

Lex sighed, "Dad, what do you want from me?"

"I wonder how your children are going to be called, are they going to be named after you, or after Miss Lang, have you ever thought about that?"

"Dad, please, cut the cr.."

"I don't know Lex, you seem to be really into the business, but you don't understand that your personal life is crashing down right in front of you".

"Stop that!" He yelled, "STOP! You don't want me to do something I don't want to do".

"Lex, you got to open your eyes, the Trojans were too arrogant to see what was really inside the horse, don't be so portentous!"

Lex swallowed all the saliva that was left inside his mouth, he didn't know what he father meant, but one thing he knew, he was trying to make him act like he did a year ago.

"Son, I didn't raise you to marry a whore"

"Don't talk like that about my wife! You should know better than that!" He tried to sound cool.

"Yes, I know way better than that, way better than you! Open your eyes Lex! Your ruining the Luthor Legacy with this… nonsense, your marriage. Don't be stupid!"

It was the last straw, he couldn't bare anymore insults from Lionel, he got up of his chair and threw it to the side. He put his two hands on the table; his father now was looking up at him. "I know what you're trying to do, dad, it won't work!"

Silence spread all across the room, Lex turned around and breathed another deep breath. He turned around again, to see his father smiling the biggest smile he has ever smiled. They stared at each other for few more seconds of silence. Suddenly the smile turned into a scream. "You think you destroyed me?" Lionel got up and threw the chair to the other side of the room. Lex startled, and almost fell on the floor. Screaming Lionel was now on the process of breaking the table by hitting it on the floor, making Lex fall on his hands, scared to his stomach.

Lionel's eyes were turning red, and after he finished dealing with the chair, he went slowly towards his son, groaning all the way, mumbling meaningless words. Lex tried to get up, he couldn't: the sight of his father's angry behavior paralyzed him. Lionel got on his knees and looked at the ceiling. Suddenly the silence crawled back to the room.

"Lex," Lionel said with a soft sound and a tear on his cheek. "I love you son, and I want the best for you, I don't want you to turn like me, please! Forgive me! FORGIVE ME!" He embraced his son to him, slowly reaching his ear. "Lex Luthor," he whispered, "You brought me here, and now it's your time also, get used to it, I'm bringing you in, so you could live here with me, EMBRACE YOUR TRUE FATE!"

"NO!" Lex shouted, "I'm not going to spend my life with you! Get away from me!" he pushed his father away from him, dropping him on the floor, screaming in pain.

A group of doctors entered the room; two of them got Lex up on his feet and took him out of the room. They took him to another corridor, while Lex was fighting them, trying to break free from their hands. They got to a black room, and a familiar character waited for them there. Gerry Gaspin stood in the corner with a needle in his hand, "Don't worry Mr. Luthor, we're going to take care of you now!".

* * *

**Author Notes:** So, this is the the second chapter, what did you think about it? I hope you liked it!

**Grasping At Straws: **I hope I got you even more curious :) Thanks for reading my story!

**Natoosh: **Thanks for the review! It means a lot to me that it got you interested, and you're totally right, Lex is the most interesting character in SV, and the sexiest ;)


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville or any of its characters, it belongs to the WB and co. Wow, it's getting pretty annoying making this story legal ;)_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 3:**

Lex opened his eyes, and breathed a fresh air of relief. It was night, and Lana had already gone to bad. He went to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror once again. The red eyes were still there, but he felt great. He got back to bed, and put his head on the big red pillow. He gazed at Lana, trying to interpret her beauty. "Your intelligence can get you luck with the woman, but you'll never really figure out who they are" his father once said, and Lex didn't disagree on that. Lana was beautiful to him in everyway, she was the white rose in his dark life, she was the only one he trusted and confided on. She's been the only one to light a candle in his heart.

Suddenly Lex heard a glass break, when he looked outside he didn't see the trees moving, or any other sign of wind. _Probably one of the housekeepers_, he thought to himself. Slowly, he closed his eyes, smiling; _it was all just a dream_. He didn't see his father after all.

Another glass broke. The noise ringed in Lex's ear and he couldn't fall asleep afterwards. He wondered how Lana didn't notice the noise. He got up, put his pants on and from his top drawer, grabbed a gun; he had to be safe at all cost. He placed the gun under his pants and continued forward to the next room. There was nothing there. He turned on the lights and saw the room is empty. He looked right to the corridor, and it was silent. He sat on the couch behind him and giggled, he has no reason to be paranoid, and it's not his nature. All of a sudden the light was turned off. Lex felt a deep pain in his chest, like something was pushing him to lie on the couch.

"You know, Lex, if I were you, I would've already called the police" said a well-known voice. "Did you really think a gun would help you against me?"

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Lex didn't see anything, there wasn't any light on, and the pain in the chest paralyzed him. All he could do was talk. "How did you get out of your cell? Free me!"

No one answered; he just heard a scary giggle. He felt his eyes rolling, while in his mind he was thinking of a way to get out, always realizing that he can't move. Finally, someone lit up a candle, and then another one. The two little flames started to move towards him, and started to turn into a shape of two eyes. The eyes looked straight at Lex's face, and red fire burned inside them. The giggle came from their direction.

"Lana!" He yelled, "Wake up! Please wake up!"

"Ha!" Laughed the voice of his father, I wonder what you would prefer: my meeting with you to be a dream or this to be it."

"Lana!"

"Stop yelling Lex, you're starting to sound like a baby! I didn't raise a son to be a baby, now listen to me! You're going in with me to the cell, it's your destiny, if I'm crazy, then you're maniac! Admit it! You are just like me!"

"No!"

"A man can't deny his true nature, Lex! We're Luthors! And you're Mr. Luthor! Mr. Luthor!"

The burning eyes turned into a burning figure shaped like Lionel, they kept screaming "Mr. Luthor!" Lex tried to cover his ears but he couldn't do anything, his hands were to heavy to carry. The burning figure kept approaching him, and the hit almost suffocate him, there was no way to escape.

"Mr. Luthor, are you awake?" asked a familiar voice.

Lex opened his eyes to discover a vague room. "Who's there? Where am I?"

"It's Albertos, your housekeeper; you are at your house now, sir"

Can it be that all of the pain and anger were just a dream? He hoped so.

"Sir, two men were here, they carried you to this couch. I asked them what happened to you, why you were unconscious; they said something happened in the middle of your conversation with your father"

_So, it wasn't a dream_. He did meet his father in the institution. Suddenly the meeting didn't look so bad after all. He tried to move his feet, but they were too heavy to lift. He moaned from the pain, and whispered slowly: "Do you remember how they looked? What did they wear?"

"I don't remember, it happened a few days ago."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah," said a feminine voice, a soft voice Lex has always loved to hear. "You've been unconscious for 5 days". Lana Lang sat on a chair, next to the grey couch on which her husband laid. "You can go now, Albertos" she turned to the house-keeper, smiling. When she turned back to Lex she kept the smile on her face. "I'm glad to see you finally talking."

He looked at her, her dark-red hair lit the room, and her eyes stared straight at his, suddenly the room wasn't so vague. "I hope you didn't take advantage of my situation." He tried to smile the grin she always fell for.

But Lana didn't fell for it now. "Can you please tell me why two men carried you here, after a meeting with your father, a meeting of which you. I guess, forgot to tell me…"

"If I told you about this, your life would've been at risk."

"I don't understand, I thought we were safe from your father once he was put in the Metropolis mental institution".

"Well…" Lex didn't get to finish the sentence since the phone started to ring. He tried to get up, but found out he was still paralyzed. He couldn't feel his spine. Lana got up and picked up the phone in the other room. He could still see her, she seemed upset. She took the phone next to the couch and pressed the receiver to Lex's ear. "Speak, the _Daily _Planet wanted to talk to you, it seems like their new reporter won a great story." Lex didn't understand his wife; he has never seen her so upset.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Hey Lex," said a voice from the other side, "It's me, Clark Kent".

* * *

**Author Notes:**I wrote thischapter after watching "Onyx", this episode was magnificent, it's nice to see Smallville at its best. Since "Memoria" Iyearned for a Lex-centric episode, and finally it came! I actually borrowed a line from the episode (I won't tell you which one! lol)to thischapter.It's funny, I always think about how I'd like the chapter to look like, butonce I write the chapter it tunrs outto be theexact opposite :) I hope you liked this one. Please, keep submitting reviews, it keeps me motivated! ;)

**Wally, **I hope the chapter didn't disappoint you! Thank you for the kind words!

**Natoosh, **You gotta watch "Onyx"! That's all I gotta say right now! Thank you for your nice review, and keep reading if you wanna know the answer to your question ;)


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, should I repeat that? If not, can I own Lex and Clark? Pwease?_

**Chapter 4:**

Lex looked at Lana. He could now understand why his phone call upset her. It wasn't so long ago, when Lana left Smallville for a career in art. She was so excited, he remembered, they were good friends then, but Lana's heart belonged to another man.

"Hey Lex, it's been a while hasn't it?" said Clark. His voice sounded very mature. After all these years, the kid must've grown up. "Lana told me about your situation, I hope everything's ok"

Lex took a long deep breath, trying to find the strength to talk. "Are you saying this as a friend or as a aspiring reporter?" He heard a chuckle on the other side of the line.

"I didn't know your situation was that critical, I tried to call you for a few days and nobody picked up the phone…"

_Nobody picked up the phone? _Lex thought to himself. _Where were Lana and all of the crew all this time?_

"…Anyway," Clark continued, "I was wondering as a friend, and a reporter, maybe we could sit somewhere, have a nice chat."

"Clark Kent, reporter for the daily planet, who would've thought," He smiled at his wife, trying to find out what has she been doing since he was out. "It would be nice to see you; it has really been a while." Lana's face turned red, she tried to hint that she didn't want Clark to come to their home, but it was too late for hints. "Lana and I invite you to dinner; we'll stay in touch after my recovery."

"No problem," Clark replied, "It was nice hearing from you…" There was a long pause, "and from Lana, I hope you two are doing well."

"Thank you Clark, goodbye!" He hanged up the phone and put it in Lana's open hand. She didn't give him any look, got up and put the phone on its stand. From a far, Lex could hear her shout: "You had to invite him, didn't you?"

Lex wanted to see his best friend. He didn't get a chance to meet him since he moved to Metropolis. They talked to each other on the phone from time to time, but when his relationship with Lana went on another level, he preferred not to talk with Clark. When Lana and he decided to get married, they invited Clark to the wedding, but he didn't show up. Lex was pretty upset by this, and didn't want anything to do with Mr. Kent. After hearing his voice on the phone, he discovered how much he missed Clark. There hasn't been any male character Lex liked more than Clark.

"Are you going to answer me?" Lana asked, waking her husband from his day-dream. "I'm not sure having Clark here would be good."

"And why is that?"

"You don't know what his real motives are; he probably wants to know all about your little chit-chat with your dad."

"You're totally right," he reached his hands to her cheek, he gathered all his strength so he could sit in front of her, eye to eye. "But you know me, one wrong word, and he's fired."

Lana was shocked; she got up again from the chair, throwing Lex's hand to the side. "You'd fire Clark? After all the past you've been through together?"

"Lana, I can fire anyone I want…" Lex smiled, he thought he'd just made an impression, but he clearly didn't. Lana wandered around the room; she looked like she was trying to find something on the walls. After a few minutes she stopped, stared right in her husband's eyes. He was transfixed by her stare. "First, I find out you lied to me, and now this? What is going on with you Lex?"

"What did you do when I was unconscious?" _The best defense is offence, _he always thought. He couldn't wait for an answer, he didn't expect an answer so fast, his heart was beating fast, and he was too tired to speak. He took one last look at his wife, before falling into deep sleep.

After a few weeks, Lex's condition was no longer a condition. He woke up like a brand new man, took care of himself and went back to work, back to his kingdom. In the middle of his daily check at the Metropolis Luthor Plant, he felt like it would be nice to take a walk down Metro Park.

Metro Park was Lex's favorite place in the city. He always wandered around, searching for new places he'd never seen before. The trees were all yellow and their leaves covered the pathways. The air couldn't be fresher, the silence couldn't bring more joy to Lex's hear, until he found out a man was sitting on a bench, staring right at him. The man wore a dark blue suit, and pair of black sunglasses. When Lex noticed him, he tried to hide himself with a newspaper. _Amateur, _he thought to himself. He turned around to find a nice familiar face; it's been a long time since he saw Clark Kent.

_"Aren't you happy for her?" Lex asked, pouring him whiskey into a bright glass. He took a look at his favorite room in the Smallville mansion; he couldn't wait to get rid of it. _

_"You don't know how happy I am for her," Clark said, "but I didn't think we'd have to say our goodbyes so soon after graduation". _

_Lex remembered Lana and Clark's graduation ceremony. Lana was the most beautiful student there to graduate. The blue suit suited her eyes, making her shine; you could see her from a far. He always put his feelings for her aside, although a major part of him wanted to be more than just friends, he knew how his best friend, Clark, felt about her. They were so in love then. They were like a teen dream couple, the meant to be couple, who seemed to last forever. He remembered Clark's eyes when Lana told him about her moving to Metropolis. He was crushed. _

_Lex turned around to look at his best bud. "That's life, my friend, it twists and turns, and people move on, that's what you have to do now."_

_"Lex, its Lana we're talking about, and I'm not going to see her, she's leaving Smallville and I'm going to stay, I have to stay." _

_Yeah, he had to stay, who knew that better than Lex. Till this day, he wondered how Clark would've felt if he knew that Lex was the one to make him stay in Smallville. He wondered what he would've done, if he found out Lex was the one to make Lana move to Metropolis, where he planned to build his future life. _

Clark seemed like he was waiting for someone. He leaned on a big tree, staring at his watch every 5 seconds. Lex decided to say hello, he walked towards his friend, and when they met, they gave each other a hug. Lex missed these hugs. Clark has a big smile on his face. "How are you, pal? I thought you're going to ditch me, why didn't you call me? You look great!"

Lex took a look on his friend. He looked good, very happy and mature. "I see you're waiting for someone."

Clark didn't have the chance to answer, since a woman caught him from behind, trying to scare her male friend. "Hey Kent, hope I didn't make you wait for long." She smiled. When she saw Lex, she pushed Clark aside and grasped Lex's hand. "Hello, Mr. Luthor, I'm"

"Lois Lane," Lex replied, "From the 'Daily Planet', Clark's employer I suppose?"

Clark didn't have a very satisfied look on his face, "For now." He said. He looked at Lois, and grinned at her. "Anyway, Lex, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Well, Lois decided that as an amateur, I need to write my first story on the autumn that's coming out way."

"That's a great job for you, Smallville" Lois looked around her, avoiding the presence of the two men, finally she pointed at the man in black. "Look, you have a nice person over there, on the bench. Aw, he's probably thinking 'oh, I wonder if I'll ever meet a reporter who'll interview me!'… Grant him that wish Kent!"

"I'm not so sure it would be healthy for you two to talk to this fellow, he seems to stalk me."

"A stalker? That wouldn't stop me!" Lois said, pushing the two men the sides.

"Don't bother stopping her," Clark said, "She's too stubborn". He cleaned his long black coat from all the leaves, and turned back to Lex. "So tell me, how's… everything?"

"Lana is doing fine; she's going to open a gallery of her latest work soon. You're invited to come, it's on October 28th, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Now, Lana was his wife, he didn't have any problems with the two ex love birds, he trusted his wife more than anyone.

Clark didn't have time to reply to what his friend's just said, after he heard a gunshot from Lois direction. She lay on the ground, her body quivered on a little puddle of blood. The shooter was nowhere to be found. "LOIS!" Clark yelled.

"Don't worry Clark!" Lex yelled, "I'm going to call for an ambulance".

* * *

**Author's notes: **Ta da! This is the fourth chapter, it took me some time to edit it, and make it more interesting. I still don't like this episode, but I hope people who read this won't give up on this story. Please be gentle in your reviews, I know this chapter isn't good:) 


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, or any characters from this amazing show. But I do own a nice black pen. _

**Chapter 5:**

The ride to the hospital was short. It didn't take a long time until Lois was put on a bed. She didn't quiver anymore, and she stayed still all the ride to the hospital. Lex noticed Clark's worried eyes, he held Lois's hand and didn't let go. But Clark wasn't the one on his mind right now. _The man in the blue suit wasn't an amateur after all, _he thought to himself, _but why did he shoot Lois? Weren't I the target?_

The room Lois was put in was fulsome. The walls were blue; there were pictures of clowns and flowers all over them. The curtains and the bed were white, sickening all the room along with the pictures. A doctor and two nurses entered the room, and started attaching medical objects on the patient. The doctor looked like a pro, he wore a blue doctor suit, had a black hair and glasses that covered his blue eyes.

Clark let go of Lois's hand to talk to doctor blue eyes. "What's going on? Can you do something?"

The doctor shook Clark and Lex's hands and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm doctor cartright, I'll be taking care of Miss Lane here. The bullet penetrated into Miss Lane's chest, it caused an enormous amount of blood to drip to the space between her heart and the Heart's mantle. We'll have to perform a surgery; we have to open her thorax".

"I'm sure you'll do the job great," Lex smiled at the doctor, he inserted his hand to the pocket, felt a couple of dollars and put them in the doctor's hand. "I hope you'll do you job perfectly".

"Yes, Mr. Luthor." Dr. Cartright put the money in his pocket and smiled back at Lex.

Lex took Clark and they exit the room. They sat on the black chairs outside and watched the TV. It didn't take very long until the story got to the news; pictures of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor were all over the screen. Clark leaned his head on the wall, looking at the ceiling. "Tell me it's all just a dream, the first day I'm actually working and my partner gets shot."

Lex didn't answer, important things occupied his mind. He couldn't get the murderer out of his head. When he heard the shot, he knew his life isn't going to be as good as they've been for a year. He thought the mental institution meant the end of Lionel Luthor, but he was wrong, terribly wrong. The battle between his father's legacy and himself has just begun; he was afraid of it but well aware of it. He recalled the day Lana and he went to visit his mother's grave a year ago. He told his mother about all his doings and swore to her, that he'll never turn out to be like his father. He hoped Lana listened to him, because she was the only one who could assure he wouldn't turn to be a Luthor, that's why he loved her so much, she was his only savior. He looked back at Clark, his head was still leaning against the wall, and his eyes were closed.

_I'm sorry for all the misery I caused you, Clark. _Lex said in his mind. _Please, I had to do it for my own sake, I had to take Lana. You know she was the only trustworthy woman in Smallville, she was the only trustworthy I knew all my life, after my mother's death. _Suddenly a voice came to his head. _Why do you think you own the guy an apology, you did what you had to do and you did it very well. _That voice was his father's, he shook his head, trying to get rid of the horrible voice, but as he came to think about it, he agreed with that voice. He felt confused, he had to get up and get out of the place. "Clark?"

Clark opened his eyes and turned his head to his friend. "What?"

"Would you like to take a walk outside? Get some fresh air and maybe coffee."

"I'm sorry Lex," he returned to look at the ceiling, "I prefer staying here, but you can go."

"Ok, I'm going outside, and I'll get you some real coffee."

Clark smiled, "Thanks." He closed his eyes again as he heard Lex's footsteps. He couldn't take a walk with Lex, it was a great idea to do it but he just couldn't. Every move Lex made, every word he said, reminded him of Lana Lang, the girl of his teen dreams. The woman appeared in every dream he's had since he was a 5 years old kid. He saw a beautiful future for the two of them, but Lana crushed them when she told him she's going to Metropolis. He went to college with his friend Chloe Sullivan, he had a few girls to call girlfriends, but they weren't the girl who had left him behind. He found out his ambition for journalism in college, after Chloe's sudden death from cancer, he decided he's going to pursue her dream of being a journalist at the "Daily Planet", he promised her he'll do that when he sat beside her in her final hours. He knew deep inside, that he wasn't going to move to Metropolis just for Chloe, he wondered how Lana was doing. Throughout college he sent Lana letters about his studies and Chloe, but she didn't reply to any of them. When he wrote her about Chloe's condition, she didn't even come to visit her, and from then on he decided to stop writing. He was a fool in love, and he hoped he'll get over it.

When he got to the "Daily Planet", his world went upside down. Smallville was a little quiet town, but Metropolis was an unstoppable city. He was surprised to meet Lois once again; he hoped he got rid of her the day of graduation. She didn't come to visit Chloe, but not because she didn't care, it was because she couldn't see her cousin suffer. She sent Chloe flowers every week, sent her letters and one day Clark saw her standing in front of the hospital, but she couldn't enter.

He wasn't happy to see Lois again, but he was happy to see some partly friendly face in the "Daily Planet". She didn't change, he was sure about that, but after spending a few weeks with her, he discovered she wasn't that bad. Every time they said goodbye to each other, he found out that he didn't think about Lana while he was with Lois.

Clark opened his eyes to see the ceiling again, but he didn't see the ceiling, he had a vision of Lana in his mind. He shut his eyes; _stop thinking about her you fool! _He said to himself. He turned over from the ceiling to find another vision of Lana, but now it wasn't an illusion, it was reality. Lana approached him, and he could fell his heart skip a beat.

"Are you here for Lex?" She asked, her face was serious as ever.

Clark gazed at her. She looked older than he remembered, but she was still a beauty. Her soft green eyes amazed him, they were so intense. They had a great influence on him. "Ah," He tried to answer; he couldn't believe he still acted like a teen around her, "What are you talking about? Nothing happened to Lex."

Lana sat beside Clark, she took a deep inhale and exhaled all of the air that was left in her mouth, "I really don't know what's going on with me, I turned on the TV, heard only two words: Lex and hospital and here I am."

Clark smiled, he didn't want to say it, and he couldn't believe he's going to say it: "I guess love makes us crazy sometimes."

Lana gazed at Clark's eyes, they were always a comfort for her, one look at them and she knew she had someone in her life. One gaze at the turquoise in his eyes and she felt like all her fears of loneliness magically vanished, particularly when he gazed right at her. "Uh," she mumbled, trying to gather her thoughts, "so why are you here?"

"The thing you heard on TV? Well, my friend Lois got shot and Lex was the one to call an ambulance. I sometimes forget how great Lex has been to me."

"Lex is wonderful," Lana recalled her night with Lex 4 months ago; they had love on the floor, in front of the burning flames of the fireplace. She's never felt so protected, so secure. When Lex caressed her, when she felt his breath, she couldn't feel more loved. "I love him." She hadn't said that in quite a while, but from the memory of that night, she could feel the truth in the word love. She discovered she was daydreaming, and Clark sat bent, looking at the floor. She wanted to say something, anything, but Lex had just showed up. She got up from the chair and hugged her husband.

Lex chuckled, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you, so I came. Clark told me about all that had happened in the park." She turned around to see Clark still looking at the floor.

"Yeah, I heard about the accident too." Said a rough voice.

The three people in the hospital corridor turned around to see a hated familiar face. He wore a black suit, his hair was long and he's face was hidden by hair that wasn't shaved. He stood with his hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face. "Surprised to see me, Lex, my son?"

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **So this is chapter no. 5, what did you think of it? You can write all your thoughts if you REVIEW ;), please REVIEW!

**Naty: **Thanks for still reading my story, I'm glad you like it and thanks for the compliment, I'm not an expert in writing as you but I'm trying! I'm happy you liked the last chapter and I hope you'll like this one, although it's kitchy ;)


End file.
